Zika, a threat we have been slow to take seriously
We don’t think much about it, but we should. Though the Zika virus originated in some far-off land, cases of the mosquito-borne virus are not far away. Golfers who have declined to go to Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics might have to curtail activities right here at home.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of July 13 there have been 1,305 travel-associated cases of Zika and one laboratory-acquired case. In U.S. territories there have been 2,905 cases. Forty-five states have reported Zika cases and three U.S. territories. New York has had the most cases at 339, but our next door neighbor Florida is second at 229. Georgia has had 33 cases of Zika.
Zika, according to the CDC, is spread mostly by mosquitoes that it describes as “aggressive daytime biters” that can also bite at night. The virus passes to the fetus from the woman and causes debilitating birth defects. Zika can also be passed during sexual contact. They know that a man can infect his partners but they don’t know if a woman can infect her partners.
The Zika virus has been around since the 1940s, originally discovered in monkeys in the Zika Forest of Uganda, but the CDC admits that only the basic knowledge of the virus is known. “More research is needed to better understand the potential for monkeys and apes to be reservoirs for Zika virus. The prevalence of Zika virus in monkeys and other nonhuman primates is currently unknown.
“There is also limited evidence from one study done in Indonesia in the late 1970s that horses, cows, carabaos (water buffaloes), goats, ducks, and bats could become infected with Zika, but there is no evidence that they develop disease or pose a risk for Zika virus transmission to humans. There have not been any reports of pets or other types of animals becoming sick with Zika virus.”
What are we doing to get that knowledge? Not much. In February, President Obama asked Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency funds, but by April, Congress had failed to act and the White House moved $589 million from Ebola response programs to Zika and an additional $44 million from emergency grants to state and local public health departments.
Politics again got in the way and Congress went on vacation without passing the emergency funding. GOP lawmakers blamed Democrats for blocking the measure and Democrats blamed Republicans. One of the Republican plans would have blocked Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico from getting money to fight Zika, and another would have used the emergency to attack everything from regulations in the Clean Water Act by exempting toxic pesticides to Obamacare funding.
The sad fact of the matter is that Zika is here and we are less prepared than we ought to be to fight it, and because government help is bound to be late, we have to take matters into our own hands. Many people could be infected and never know it and, according to the CDC, the symptoms of the virus are mild and a Zika diagnosis can only be confirmed by a blood or urine test, but even then there is no specific medicine for Zika.
Locally, we can have a vibrant mosquito eradication effort sponsored by county governments that can use a combination of spraying, disposal of illegally dumped tires and other items hat can hold water. And there are things we can do individually to cut down the mosquito population.
The CDC recommends:
• Protect ourselves and our families from mosquito bites.
• Use Environmental Protection Agency registered insect repellents.
• Take steps to control mosquitoes inside and outside our homes.
• Use screens on windows and doors. Repair holes in screens to keep mosquitoes outside and use air conditioning.
• Once a week, empty any items that hold water, such as buckets, tires, planters, pools, birdbaths, flowerpots or trash containers.
There is so much about Zika we don’t know and apparently won’t find out in the near term. We’re not sure if the method of transmission is as limited as first thought. What we do know, at least for pregnant women, is that Zika poses a significant risk to the unborn child and can lead to a birth defect called microcephaly.
The CDC recommends that pregnant women not travel to areas with Zika, but unfortunately, Zika has traveled here and we don’t know if it’s here to stay.
This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Zika, a threat we have been slow to take seriously."